


Ich liebe...

by StarScoutSimon



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: AU, Fluff, Language Barrier, M/M, kind of?, semi resolved romantic tension, sudden kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 03:37:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14535795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarScoutSimon/pseuds/StarScoutSimon
Summary: A prompt received on tumblr: "How about, Hermann is transferred to a branch located in the States, but he doesn't speak English. Newt is German also, but grew up in the states from a young age. He never really picked up German, but his boss sticks Hermann with him on the assumed idea that he does in fact know the language. So they both have to navigate through language barriers and Herman finds himself falling in love with Newt but has literally no idea how to tell him or if it's mutual." [Cross Posted]





	Ich liebe...

**Author's Note:**

> This one DID get posted on tumblr, but I felt like sharing it here as well!

It’d been approximately a  month since Newton was paired with Hermann Gottlieb. Picky, perfectionist, tidy, proper, maths-obsessed Hermann Gottlieb, who only spoke German. A language that their boss seemed to think Newton  _also_ spoke. Simply because he was born in Germany. The audacity and ignorance combined had caused several headaches for Newt.

Today’s headache happened to be caused by Gottlieb himself, however. It was barely noon and already Hermann had managed to drop his chalk for a third time, making a distressed noise and muttering to himself as he bent down to pick it up. He seemed to get stuck there, unable to leverage himself up again after having crouched down so many times in one morning.

Heaving a sigh, Newt pulled away from his work, took off his [mostly clean] gloves and crossed the room to help Hermann back onto his feet. “What’s gotten into you, man? You never drop stuff like this. This is the third time today!” He knew Hermann didn’t understand him, but sometimes it still felt good to get the words out. They’d each picked up little bits of the others’ language over time, but it wasn’t enough to fully communicate.

Hermann had the sense to look embarrassed, fumbling through what might have been an apology, his face flushed. Even his ears had turned pink. Newt quickly signaled, or so he hoped, that things were fine – a small wave of his hand and a shrug. This seemed to pacify the physicist somewhat, and he gave a short nod before returning to his work. Newton took that as his cue to do the same. He didn’t catch the lingering look he got upon turning away, or the way Hermann worried his lower lip between his teeth.

Hermann had grown… quite fond of Dr. Geiszler. Very few people seemed to have the patience for his inability to speak english, and the man was instrumental in Hermann’s success at the facility. They painstakingly worked together to translate Hermann’s reports into English, and Newton was doing his best to teach the basics to Hermann. Language wasn’t something he learned easily, however; it was nothing like math. It was imprecise, messy, and not exactly straight forward.

All that considered, he’d learned a decent amount, enough to navigate the facility alone. He just wished he could learn more, so that perhaps one day he could have a proper conversation with the biologist he was slowly growing to adore. They would argue, language barrier or not; usually over stupid things, like Newton making messes or Hermann himself moving things that didn’t belong to him because he couldn’t stand the sheer disorder. Sometimes he made a game out of just yelling random things, knowing Newton couldn’t understand him. His favorite method was yelling in Newton’s face that he found him impossible and incredibly attractive.

Perhaps it was a little unfair, but it sure did make Hermann feel better. His mind continued to wander, and distracted as he was, his hand slipped once more and his chalk clattered to the floor. “ _Scheisse_!!”

Now, that, Newton  _did_ understand. He turned away from his work for what felt like the thousandth time, mouth opening to say something until he saw Hermann’s expression. His lips sealed and his eyebrows drew together. The physicist looked straight up  _distressed_. Hermann reached up and dragged his free hand down the length of his face, smudging chalk dust on part of his forehead.

“Wait, wait, I’ll get it.” Newt said, removing yet another pair of gloves (he’d accumulated a nice little pile of them in the waste bin so far this morning) and hurrying over to pick up the chalk. Already, Hermann was talking, voice tight with stress and something Newton couldn’t identify. He was gesticulating, refusing to take the chalk back even as it was held out to him. He was very obviously frustrated.

“Look, it’s okay, man, you’re just having an off day. Everyone has em’.” Newt’s eyebrows were slowly creeping up to his hairline. Hermann seemed to reach some kind of… decision, his eyes set and a calm settling in over the stress. He visibly deliberated, warring with himself, before saying something with a surprising amount of conviction. Newton could not quite understand. What had gotten into him?

Newton was very close to asking before the other man was suddenly right in his face, lips connecting with his own quite suddenly. 

This time,  _he_ was the one to drop the chalk.

Hermann could not convey his point with words, so this was all he could think to do. He felt himself panicking a little when Newton didn’t respond. He pulled away, eyes searching for any hint of what Newt was thinking. The man looked a little dazed, his tongue darting out briefly to follow Hermann’s departure. He seemed to come back to himself with a blink, eyes trained on Hermann as if seeing him for the first time. No, that wasn’t it – it was a deep form of focus, and it made Hermann squirm.

“ _Bitte_ , Newton–” Hermann’s words were cut off when Newt kissed him back, a careful, investigative pressure sending a tingling shiver down Hermann’s spine. He immediately felt the dread in his stomach evaporate, hand raising to rest against the back of the shorter man’s neck. He could hardly contain himself; he knew he’d taken a huge risk, and he was delighted that it hadn’t blown up in his face. He resolved then to put all of his effort into learning more than just the basics of English as soon as possible.

Newton pulled away, a grin on his face. “You could have just told me.” Hermann didn’t understand entirely, but the playful tone of the other man’s voice had him grinning.  Newt took that moment to bend down and once again retrieve the chalk, holding it out for Hermann to take.

After that, there were no more incidents, aside from perhaps a few more kisses throughout the day.


End file.
